Anything Goes (1956 film)

Anything Goes
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Lewis
Screenplay by	Sidney Sheldon Howard Lindsay
Based on	Anything Goes by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse
Produced by	Robert Emmett Dolan
Starring	Bing Crosby Donald O'Connor Zizi Jeanmaire Mitzi Gaynor Phil Harris
Cinematography	John F. Warren
Edited by	Frank Bracht
Music by	Nick Castle Joseph J. Lilley Van Cleave
Production company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	April 13, 1956 (1956-04-13) (US)
Running time	106 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$2.1 million (US)[1]

Anything Goes is a 1956 American musical film directed by Robert Lewis, and starring Bing Crosby, Donald O'Connor, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Mitzi Gaynor.^[2] Adapted from the 1934 stage musical Anything Goes by Cole Porter, Guy Bolton, and P. G. Wodehouse,^[3] the film is about two entertainers scheduled to appear in a Broadway show who travel to Europe, where each discovers the perfect leading lady for the female role. Bing Crosby's character, Bill Benson, goes to England and meets Mitzi Gaynor's character Patsy Blair, and he signs her as the female lead. Meanwhile, Donald O'Connor's character, Ted Adams, travels to France and meets Jeanmaire's character, Gaby Duval, and he signs her to the same role. On the return voyage, with each man having brought his leading lady along, the Atlantic becomes a stormy crossing when each man must tell his discovery that she might not get the role.

Paramount had already (1936) released a musical film version that followed the plot of the original stage musical. The book for this 1956 film version, also released by Paramount, was drastically rewritten. Although this version again stars Crosby (whose character was renamed), the film replaces most of the original characters and follows a new plot. It features almost no similarities to the musical stage production, apart from some songs and the title.